Self-Advocacy: The Power to Get What You Need
Self-Advocacy is defined as, "a set of skills that enables people with disabilities to effectively communicate their needs to others and get those needs met." This can range from telling others what you like or what you are interested in doing, to telling your boss the work accommodations you need to do your job successfully.
Self-Advocacy Across the Lifespan
Self-Advocacy for High School and Beyond
As students with ASD advance through high school they should address the following areas of self-advocacy: understanding their disability and the accommodations and supports they need to be successful, self-disclosure (when and how to tell others about their disability), choosing vocational exploration activities based on special interests, using the phone independently (if appropriate), using e-mail and internet to gather information, making their own medical and other appointments, choosing classes, making their own goals, and leading their own IEP meetings (as much as possible). During the transition to adulthood, students should be supported to take the lead as much as possible in making life decisions with gradually decreased support over time.
Book of the Week: The Integrated Self-Advocacy ISA Curriculum: A Program for Emerging Self-Advocates with Autism Spectrum and Other Conditions/ Valerie Paradiz ; foreword by Stephen Shore. Autism Asperger Pub. Co., 2009. "A curriculum to teach and practice self-advocacy skills for students with autism spectrum and related disorders. Specifically designed for middle-and-high school-aged students, young adults in transition, and adults with high-functioning autism and related conditions, it includes adaptation ideas for elementary-school students and other disability groups." This set has a teacher edition, a student education, and a CD-ROM.
This book is in the SESA Library. You may search the library catalog via the SESA website, or contact Anne directly by email at afreitag@sesa.org or by phone at 907-334-1301.
